Detective's Welfare
by Lady Riss
Summary: A little Post-Child's Welfare drabble. Amaro/Benson partnership.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I should be doing homework, I NEED to be doing homework, but tonight's episode just bothered me so much! Olivia was totally off her game and NO ONE said anything to her. Really?

Disclaimer: Not mine.

PS: Warren Leight replied to a tweet of mine. Hella excited about that. Mariska's next (next lifetime, but a girl can dream!).

**EDIT: I am SO embarrassed! I KNOW Olivia found Simon 5 years ago. I have no idea why I said 2...**

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><p>Olivia walked into the precinct and threw her coat over her chair and headed to the coffee pot. She looked to the brown liquid and smiled, remembering the days of Munch's horrible brew and then her tea. Olivia had long since stopped drinking the tea, she realized she needed something stronger in her line of work.<p>

"Good morning," Nick said, coming up behind her and grabbing a cup.

"Morning," she replied.

Nick stared at Olivia a moment, trying to figure out how to approach her. He wanted to ask her if she was alright, if everything with her brother was okay. She had been so distracted during their case that he wondered why no one talked to her about it. Back in Narcotics there was a lecture for almost every mishap.

Nick opened his mouth, but Olivia walked away at the same time. Nick sighed and grabbed a cup of coffee. He wished his partner would open up to him. He had read your jacket. She was a good detective, someone he could learn from. He had admired how many of her arrests were sent to prison. When he found out he was going to be her partner, he was more than excited.

Then he showed up and all she gave him was attitude. She commented on his facial hair and was generally cold towards him. He had asked Fin about her old partner, Stabler. Fin didn't seem to like him and Nick could see why. If Stabler's sudden departure could change the woman that the papers claimed was filled with compassion into a cold woman, he must not have been a good guy.

Nick had never met him, but he didn't like him.

If Stabler hadn't been such an ass to his partner, maybe she'd be more willing to be his.

"How was your night?" He asked casually, sipping his coffee.

"Fine, and yours?"

Fine. Everything was always 'fine' with Olivia Benson. Never good, never bad, never different, just 'fine.' All Nick wanted was a real response from her. If he was supposed to trust Olivia with his life, why the hell couldn't she trust him with hers?

"Fine," he mimicked. She didn't catch on to his joke.

The day passed slowly as the detectives finished filing the paperwork for their latest case. Nick noticed Olivia still seemed distracted and kept checking her phone. He also noticed that Munch had squeezed her shoulder briefly in passing and Fin had brought her a cup of coffee. At some point during the day he had looked to Amanda, she looked to be just as clueless.

Her phone chimed quietly and she read her text message, then smiled.

"Good news?" Nick asked, trying to spark the conversation.

Olivia looked to him, her smile brighter than he'd ever seen, "Yeah." Nick raised an eyebrow, coaxing Olivia into giving him more. The brunette continued smiling and put her phone down, "My brother's girlfriend wants me over for dinner on Sunday."

Nick smiled back, "That's great."

Olivia nodded and Nick saw her smile fade before she returned to her paperwork. Nick frowned. Had Olivia noticed that he was trying to get her to open up? Had she been suddenly aware that she was about to talk about her personal life in front of him? Whatever caused her to close up again, it was enough to make Nick mad.

He was distracted from his thoughts when his phone rang. "Amaro," he answered briskly. He sighed when he heard the tiny voice on the other end, "Zara, you know you aren't supposed to call me at work."

_"But, Daddy… Grandma won't let me eat candy corn."_

Nick smiled softly, "That's because you aren't supposed to eat candy corn for dinner."

_"Daddy, Mommy let's me eat it whenever I want," Zara said smartly._

This was always a problem. Zara liked to use her own mother against her father. He was going to have to talk to Maria about that, again. "Well, I'm not Mommy so no candy corn." The little girl huffed for a moment then hung up. Nick left the phone to his ear, momentarily stunned that his four-year old was able to have an attitude already.

"Candy corn, huh?"

Nick looked up to his partner. She was smiling again. "Yeah, her mother told her it was vegetable a few months ago. She won't let it go."

Olivia laughed slightly, "I told my mom that jelly beans were a vegetable because they were green."

Nick smiled too, happy to see the humanity in her, "Don't tell Zara, she'll just use that against me."

Olivia turned her head back to her paperwork, still smiling, "She's a smart girl then."

…

When Olivia came in the next day Nick knew she'd had a bad night. She was ten minutes late, had dark bags under her eyes, and her hair was pulled back. She went straight to the coffee pot, not even throwing her coat on the chair. When she sat down she just shrugged her coat off and sighed.

"Rough night?"

Olivia looked up and smiled sadly, "You could say that."

Olivia's stomach growled quietly and she just sighed again. "Why don't we go interview that waitress from Bill's Café?"

Olivia looked to him, confused. There was no waitress, but she also realized there was hardly any paperwork and no new cases. Breakfast wasn't going to hurt anyone. She shrugged her coat back on and Nick smiled. "Let's go."

The two detectives arrived to Bill's Café and took a booth. Olivia ordered toast and eggs while Amaro decided on pancakes and coffee. The partners sat and ate quietly at first, both enjoying the innocent buzz of the diner.

"So, how was your night?" Nick asked casually, avoiding Olivia's eye contact.

Olivia stopped mid-bite and couldn't help but smile at him, he sure was slick. She finished chewing her food and leaned back against the booth's plush seat, "What do you want to know?"

Nick looked up and frowned, "What do you mean?"

"What do you want to know about my brother?"

The edges of Nick's lips curled slightly, "I didn't say anything about your brother."

Olivia's eyes narrowed, but a smirk still played on her lips. All Nick could think of was what a mystery Olivia Benson was. Not only had she been in SVU for thirteen years and seen all the horrors of the job, but there was something in her eyes. They were dark, excessively dark, and he wondered what else they had seen.

"My brother got into some trouble. Last night he called me and told me it was my fault, all while apologizing."

Nick raised a brow, "Why would he blame you?"

Olivia shrugged, "Because I didn't get him the best lawyer."

"Were you close growing up?"

Olivia's smile faltered, but it didn't leave her face, "I only found him five years ago." Nick's face must have shown signs of surprise because Olivia turned back to her food and pushed it around, "It's complicated."

Nick nodded and turned back to his food as well, "All families are."

…

A/N: Review! I want Olivia to open up to Amaro about her dad, but I thought it'd be OOC if I had her do it now. Maybe I'll write more, maybe I won't. Review and find out. (:


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I couldn't resist. Especially since we aren't going to have a new episode until April 11…

Disclaimer: Not mine.

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><p>"That's not an excuse!" Olivia shouted, turning her anger towards Casey.<p>

"Look, Liv, I get your pissed, but his attorney is going to play that he never had a chance because his dad was a rapist too," Casey explained calmly, holding up her hands in mock surrender.

Olivia grit her teeth, "This is bullshit and you know it."

Nick watched the interaction silently in the corner.

"Do I believe the defense? No. Will a jury?" Casey asked rhetorically, "Maybe."

Olivia shook her head and stomped off, leaving Casey and Nick in her wake.

Casey sighed and turned to the one-way mirror and watched as Eddie Lewis spoke with his attorney. "He's going to get away with it," she muttered under her breath. Color rose to her cheeks and Nick could see the anger flare throughout her body. She turned away from the mirror and leaned against it, "I can't believe it."

"He'll have to go to a treatment center," Nick said hoping to comfort her, "those places aren't the best places either."

Casey turned a skeptical eye to him, but then shook her head, "It's still not prison."

"So you don't believe any of it?"

"Any of what?" Casey asked, already irritated and closing her eyes as he spoke.

"The bad blood stuff. You don't think violence is genetic?"

Casey's eyes flew open and she stared at the detective, "Do you?"

Nick shrugged, "I don't know. When I was under in Narcotics the sons were just as violent as their dads."

"And you don't think it has anything to do with seeing the violence? Eddie Lewis never even knew his father. You think we should let him ago because he was a product of rape?" Casey asked, putting her hand on her hip.

Nick instantly took a step back, "Slow down, all I'm saying is that the ones who had violent dads were also violent."

"It's a Twinkie defense," Casey said sternly, and Nick knew the conversation was over.

…

Olivia sat at her desk, twitching the pen in her hand while her leg bounced. So many thoughts were swirling through her head, too many to focus on.

She missed Haung.

She would never have admitted it if he was still there, but she could really use him. She needed him to tell her that she wasn't her father. She needed him to say that she became a police officer to do good and not to channel her aggression. She needed to hear that, just because the blood of a rapist ran through her veins, she was still Detective Olivia Serena Benson and she was still a good person.

"He asked for six years in a treatment facility," Nick informed Olivia.

She looked up at him, her eyes darker than usual,"What did Casey say?"

Nick sat down across form her, "She accepted it."

Olivia began to shake her head and threw the pen onto her desk, "I can't believe that."

Nick shrugged, "It might be the best we can get. A jury might buy the guy's story."

Anger coursed through Olivia and Nick was almost frightened. A growl played on her lips while the hairs on her arm stood up. Color flooded over her complexion. "His mother's rape, twenty-three years ago, does not justify what he did."

Nick tilted a head, "Olivia, the guy spent his entire life hearing those horrible things about his father. He knew, since the time he could form a thought, that his dad was evil. Knowing that half of you is that bad, it's hard."

Olivia narrowed her eyes and her mouth was in a straight line. "That does not justify him forcing himself on a woman."

Nick sighed, "I'm not saying it does. I'm just saying it'd be hard."

Olivia's jaw set and she shook her head.

Nick tried to think of something else to say, he tried to think of a way to calm Olivia down while unraveling the mystery that was her. But, he couldn't think of anything. Nick was good with people, he knew that. People just seemed to feel at ease around him. Olivia, however, wasn't the average person.

…

Olivia came into the station house the next day looking exhausted. Nick began to wonder if the woman ever slept. He'd seen her walk into work pale with dark circles more than he'd even seen the blush of winter on her cheek. As her partner, he was worried about her.

Olivia returned to her desk and set down a cup of coffee, then placed one in front of him. He looked to the mug, then Olivia. A smile spread naturally across his face, "Thank you."

Olivia returned the smile, "You're welcome."

Moments passed between the two in a silence that Nick was growing used to. He sipped his coffee and stared lazily at his computer screen while she worked on paperwork. Most of the day passed quietly, until ADA Casey Novak showed up.

"We've got a problem," she said the moment she walked into the station.

Olivia immediately looked up, "What?"

Casey threw a newspaper on Olivia's desk, "His lawyer's not talking the deal. He wants to take this to trial."

Olivia frowned, "That can't be possible. We have DNA and eyewitnesses. He can't think he's going to win."

"It turns out Ted's pet project is to find a link between genes and violence."

Olivia slumped back in her chair, "You've got to be kidding me."

Casey frowned, "I wish I were."

Olivia picked up the paper and read it quickly before throwing it back on her desk in disgust. "Does he know what kind of door he's opening? Any perp with a messed up childhood is going to go for this defense."

"People have been using their parents for excuses for a long time now," Nick said calmly, "This shouldn't change how the sentencing works."

"It will," Casey said fiercely, "Now people will claim they couldn't help it. They were born to be violent." Casey leaned against Olivia's desk, her back to the detectives, and closed her eyes a moment, "If this case goes the way Ted wants…" Casey couldn't finish her sentence as the bitter taste of injustice and defeat settled in her mouth.

…

Nick stood outside of the precinct a cigarette in hand.

The small puffs that left his mouth made him smile and he felt the nicotine relax him. Slowly, but surely. He had promised Maria he'd quite, but after a day like today… He couldn't face Zara without a little relaxant. He felt like he'd let her down today, or rather, the justice system had let her down.

Defense Attorney Ted Matilksy argued his points on violent predispositions as well as other genetic mutations. He told the jury that his defendant, Eddie Lewis, had no choice ("No more than you choose to have brown eyes").

And the jury bought it.

They disregarded the evidence, the pictures of the bruised Samantha Terri, and the two eye witness accounts. They forewent the knowledge that Eddie knew he was wrong, even though he said so, in court, when Casey had blatantly asked.

Eddie wasn't even a sympathetic man. He was rude and sarcastic on the stand. He grew angry with everyone, even his own attorney. He was the definition of a hostile witness.

And the jury ate that up.

Eddie was found 'Not Guilty,' but was required to attend Anger Management.

Nick inhaled his cigarette, "Fucking Anger Management."

"I didn't know you smoked," it was Olivia.

He looked to his partner then to his cigarette and took another drag, "I picked it up when I was undercover." He exhaled, "If you weren't addicted to something they were suspicious." Olivia nodded, but didn't say anything. She walked closer to him and leaned against the wall. Part of Nick wanted to block Olivia out. She'd been blocking him out for months now, why should he start talking to her?

And yet… "What the hell happened in there, Olivia?"

Olivia shrugged, "The jury let us down."

Nick took another drag of his cigarette. "You could say that." It was a bitter statement and Olivia noticed it didn't feel right coming from Nick. He was always so easy going.

"Why'd you transfer to SVU, Nick?"

Nick turned to Olivia, his face a mixture of hurt and anger. Was she really going to use this case to get him to leave? Had she been plotting this since he arrived? Did she think after a hard enough case he'd just pack up and leave? "Because," Nick said slowly, not allowing Olivia to get a rise from him, "when I was under there was a lot of things that happened. And I could only stop so much without my cover being blown." The guilt still ate him up. Women were beaten on a daily basis, but he could hardly protest without the drug pins growing suspicious. He stopped rape whenever possible, but Nick wasn't always around. He was only human.

Olivia nodded slowly, "My mom was raped." Nick's heart skipped a beat and he froze. "She got pregnant and had me." Nick wasn't sure how to respond to that, but everything clicked for him. He understood Olivia's anger at Eddie, at his defense. Olivia pushed herself off the wall and stuffed her hands in her pocket, "That's why I do it. To not only work towards justice for my mom, but to prove to myself that I'm nothing like Eddie Lewis."

"You're not, Olivia."

Olivia gave him a sad smile, but nodded, "Yeah." She looked around the dark city street and inhaled the cold night air. She glanced to Nick's cigarette, "Try to have a nice night, Nick."

"You too, Olivia."

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><p>AN: So, I liked it. (: What did you lovelies think? Review please. And for reals, I think I'm done now (with this story anyway!).


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